Getting it Right

Delivering
Getting it right
Staged Assessment and Intervention and
Child Protection Procedures in East Lothian
Guidance for all Children’s Services and Adult Social
Work staff working with vulnerable children and their
families and carers
GETTING IT RIGHT
Staged Assessment and Intervention and Child Protection Procedures in East
Lothian
Contents
Page
Introduction 3
Background 3
For Scotland’s Children 3
Getting it right 4
Staged Assessment and Intervention 4
Assessment 4
Adult Services working with adult alcohol or drug users 4
Child Protection 5
Delivery model 5
Stage 1 – Universal Services (Health and
Education) 5
Universal Children’s Services 5
Adult Services 5
Child Protection 5
Action 6
Stage 2 – Additional Support to Universal
Children’s Services (Health and Education) 6
Adult Services 6
Stage 3 7
Child protection concerns / complex needs 7
Author and review information 7
Appendix 1: Staged Assessment Diagram 8
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GETTING IT RIGHT
Staged Assessment and Intervention and Child Protection Procedures in East
Lothian
Staged Assessment and Intervention and
Child Protection Procedures in East Lothian
Guidance for all Children’s Services and Adult Social Work
staff working with vulnerable children and their families and
carers
Introduction
East Lothian Children’s Services Chief Officers Group and East
Lothian Child Protection Committee have agreed this guidance,
which explains the model used in East Lothian to assess vulnerable
children and their families. The guidance incorporates:
 Edinburgh and the Lothians Child Protection Committee Inter-
agency Child Protection Procedures
 Guidelines for agencies in Edinburgh and the Lothians: Protecting
children living in families with problem substance abuse (the
‘Orange Book’)
 Getting it Right as implemented in East Lothian through Staged
Assessment and Intervention (SA&I), EYCAT, ASL and the
Lothian Child Concern Model.
Background
For Scotland’s Children
For Scotland’s Children recommended that the majority of children
should have their needs met by their families and the universal
services - health and education. The NHS should take the co-
ordinating role for children before they enter formal education
services, and education fulfil that role once children are at school.
Every child should have a named individual (guidance teacher, class
teacher/head teacher in primary school, key worker in pre-school,
or health visitor) to:
 facilitate transitions
 screen for potential requirements
 co-ordinate arrangements if more specialist services are
required.
Each local authority area should establish a model for staged
intervention that sets out:
 the responsibilities of universal and specialist/targeted services
 identifies characteristics which indicate the potential requirement
for second stage service
 establishes information-sharing and assessment arrangements.
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GETTING IT RIGHT
Staged Assessment and Intervention and Child Protection Procedures in East
Lothian
The entry point to services should not determine the range of
services offered.
Getting it right
Getting It Right is a set of integrated proposals for improving
outcomes for children and families through integration of children’s
services and the development of a multi-agency Integrated
Assessment Framework so that:
 children get the help they need it when they need it
 help is proportionate, timely and appropriate
 action improves each child's situation and reduces risk
 children and families experience a co-ordinated and unified
approach to having their needs met.
Staged Assessment and Intervention
In East Lothian, the Staged Assessment and Intervention
(SA&I) Guidelines provide the assessment and planning
framework used by all services working with school-age children
with additional support needs. The Early Years Community
Assessment Team (EYCAT) has this role for pre-school children with
disabilities.
Assessment
Assessment is an integral element of the universal services – health
and education - accessed by all children and young people. Public
health nurses undertake a core programme of developmental and
health surveillance checks as children progress to adulthood (See
Appendix 1). Detailed assessment information is routinely and
regularly collected for children and young people as they progress
through the education system.
Adult Services working with adult alcohol or drug users
Adult Services in all agencies working with adult alcohol or drug
users should follow the Guidelines for agencies in Edinburgh and the
Lothians: Protecting children living in families with problem
substance use (The Orange Book).
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GETTING IT RIGHT
Staged Assessment and Intervention and Child Protection Procedures in East
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Child Protection
All Agencies should follow the Inter-agency Child Protection
Procedures when dealing with suspected child protection concerns
(Stage 3).
Delivery model
Stage 1 – Universal Services (Health and Education)
It is the responsibility of the universal/referring agency to undertake initial
screening/assessments.
Universal Children’s Services
Each child has a Named Person. When there may be a need for additional
support, the named person will carry out an initial assessment in the
universal/referring service. S/he may seek advice from other colleagues, or
make a referral to a more targeted service provided by health or education, for
example, speech and language therapist, support for learning teacher,
CAMHS team. The referral may follow the format of the East Lothian Referral
and Assessment for Children’s Services.
Adult Services
When seeing a new client with known problems, for example, drug and /or
alcohol misuse for the first time, practitioners should, as part of routine
screening and in line with the Guidance for children living in families with
problem substance use, ascertain:
 whether the client is a parent, expectant parent or carer, and whether
there are grounds for concern about a child’s welfare, that is, s/he is
potentially at risk
 the extent of their contact with other services.
This will involve requesting information from other relevant agencies to inform
a view of the impact on the welfare of the child(ren). This process should be
initiated promptly and concluded as per the guidance within a time guideline
of four working weeks
Child Protection
If child protection concerns or risks are suspected or identified, this is stage 3.
Please refer to the Stage 3 section below.
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Staged Assessment and Intervention and Child Protection Procedures in East
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Action
After the initial assessment and intervention the universal agency may decide
that no further action is required, or to:
 devise, carry out and review the single agency action plan
 modify the action plan, continue with intervention and review again
 consult again with colleagues or refer to a more specialist service.
Or, for some children it may be decided that other professionals need to
contribute directly to further assessment and planning of intervention
Stage 2 – Additional Support to Universal Children’s
Services (Health and Education)
If assessment and intervention by a universal children’s service identifies
concerns that it cannot adequately address, additional inter-agency
assessment will normally be agreed and coordinated by means of a Stage 2
Review and Planning Meeting. A lead professional is appointed at this
meeting. Representatives from other relevant services contribute to this
process. Assessment and consideration of intervention at Stage 2 informs an
action plan, detailing who will do what and by when. For pre-school children
there should be an EYCAT meeting, which follows a similar process (this is
only in place for children with a disability).
Adult Services
If screening/assessment by adult services at Stage 1 (following the Problem
Substance Use guidelines) points to concerns to the child’s welfare, an inter-
agency assessment is required and a lead professional should be appointed
to co-ordinate the process. Normally, this would be the practitioner agreed to
have the most appropriate knowledge and skills. This decision would be made
at a Stage 2 meeting. Adult and universal services should be key contributors
to the assessment process, and all agencies must take responsibility for
determining the time-scale for completing the assessment, normally within 4
to 6 weeks. A key component of this is assessment of the adult drug or
alcohol use and its impact on the children.
Possible outcomes include that:
 the child has additional support needs– an action plan should be
developed.
 a Child Protection risk has been identified – an IRD (Inter-agency Referral
Discussion) should be initiated (Stage 3).
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Stage 3
Child protection concerns / complex needs
If any service identifies child protection concerns, the agency should
immediately contact Children’s Services Social Work, a designated on-call
paediatrician for child protection or the police for an IRD. The referring agency
is responsible for submitting all available information If contact is made by
telephone this should always be followed up by a written referral.which
outlines reasons for concern and provides supporting evidence. Social Work,
Police or designated paediatrician should consider whether to implement
Child Protection Procedures and/or to commission an interagency
assessment.
If the IRD or interagency assessment leads to a conclusion that there is risk, a
Child Protection Case Conference is convened. All practitioners actively
involved with the child or parent must attend, wherever possible. If the child’s
name is placed on the Child Protection Register and a Child Protection Plan is
agreed, a core group must be convened to implement the Child Protection
Plan, and this should include, at a minimum:
 a social worker
 health visitor or teacher
 a GP or the most the appropriate member of Primary Care Team
 an Alcohol/Drug Practitioner, if appropriate.
If the interagency assessment leads to a conclusion that there are child
protection concerns rather than child protection risks, a Stage 3 meeting can
be called. This meeting may also be called a Child Protection Concern
meeting.
Other Stage 3 referrals include when it is agreed that a child is one of the
minority whose complex or enduring needs for support require intensive-multi
agency assessment and intervention. The child should be referred to
specialist services (for instance, social work), or specialists within universal
services.
These are the children or young people who may require, for example:
 a Co-ordinated Support Plan
 a Looked After and Accommodated Child Care Plan
The universal service(s) involved at Stage 2 will continue to have a core role
in coordinating and contributing to planning and intervention.
Author’s Name Gill McMillan
Designation Children’s Services Development Manager and CPC
Date Friday 28th March 2008
Review Date March 2009
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All Children
Some additional support needs
Appendix 1:
Children in Need
At risk, compulsory measures –
chronic disability
Complex Needs –
Inter-Agency Assessment – Screening Groups or IRD
Stage III Meeting:
STAGE LAAC Review
Lead III CSP Plan
Professional – Intensive CP Case Conference or Concern Meeting
Case Co-ordinator Support
STAGE
II
Additional Concerns Identified – Inter-Agency Assessment + Plan – usually via Stage II meeting
Lead Support to
Professional Health & Multi-Agency Action Plan agreed + managed by Lead Professional
Education
Named STAGE Universal Services – Some additional support needs –
Person I Single-Agency Plan
Health/Education
Named EDUCATION Universal Services (health or schools) -
Person - Mainstream Screening / assessment/plans
HEALTH